Method and apparatus for raising and retrieving a boat anchor

ABSTRACT

An anchor raising device includes a generally cylindrical watertight container having a closed bottom and a dished top. A square tube passes axially through the container to receive an anchor line and contains a locking pin to restrain the anchor line from descending once the anchor has been raised. When a boat anchor is to be raised, the device is put over the side, the engine is started and the boat is run upstream such that the anchor line is pulled through the tubing. The shape of the container causes it to remain substantially adjacent the surface of the water and in a substantially fixed position, thus to function as a pivot or pulley member about which the anchor line turns. The anchor is raised and the container has sufficient buoyancy to suspend the anchor for convenient retrieval.

Dec. 2, 1975 METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR RAISING AND RETRIEVING A BOATANCHOR [76] inventor: Emile Menard, Jr., 5647 SE.

Drefshill, Milwaukie, Oreg. 97123 [22] Filed: Aug. 15,1974

[211 Appl. No.: 497,574

[52] US. Cl. 114/221 R; 114/206 R [51] Int. Cl. B63B 21/24 [58] Field ofSearch 114/206 R, 209, 51, 221 R; 9/8 R [56] References Cited UNITEDSTATES PATENTS 1,531,946 3/1925 Jacobsson 114/51 2.511.065 6/1950Jackson t 1 114/209 3.094.095 6/1963 Litchfield et al 1 14/206 R3.407.775 10/1968 Lunde 114/206 R 3 547,067 12/1970 Tonkman 114/206 RPrimary Examiner-Trygve M. Blix Assistant Examiner-Gregory W. OConnorAttorney, Agent, or Firm-Klarquist, Sparkman, Campbell, Leigh, Hall &Whinston [57] ABSTRACT An anchor raising device includes a generallycylindrical watertight container having a closed bottom and a dishedtop. A square tube passes axially through the container to receive ananchor line and contains a locking pin to restrain the anchor line fromdescending once the anchor has been raised. When a boat anchor is to beraised, the device is put over the side, he engine is started and theboat is run upstream such that the anchor line is pulled through thetubing. The shape of the container causes it to remain substantiallyadjacent the surface of the water and in a substantially fixed position,thus to function as a pivot or pulley member about which the anchor lineturns. The anchor is raised and the container has sufficient buoyancy tosuspend the anchor for convenient retrieval.

7 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures U.S. Patent Dec. 2, 1975 CURRENT FIG. 6

N E R R U c T N E R R U C METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR RAISING ANDRETRIEVING A BOAT ANCHOR BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This inventionrelates to a method of raising a boat anchor from a submerged anchoringposition to a position on the surface of the water for convenientretrieval and to a novel device particularly adapted to perform thesame.

It is a primary object of the present invention to provide a quick andeasy method of raising boat anchors which can be readily performedwithout extraordinary skill and without the use of expensive or bulkyequipment.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a-device foruse in the aforementioned method, which device is simple and easy toconstruct, durable in use and economical in cost.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the followingdescription when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION My method of raising and retrieving a boatanchor comprises moving the boat from an initial position downstream ofa surface point overlying the anchor to a second position upstream ofsuch point while causing the anchor line to pivot over a buoyant,substantially stationary pivot member, the second position beingdetermined by the position of the boat when the anchor is raised to apoint immediately beneath the pivot member. The method further comprisesrestraining the anchor from descending beneath the pivot member, movingthe boat toward the pivot member while drawing in the anchor line, andthen retrieving the anchor.

The anchor raising device of the invention comprises a generallycylindrical watertight container having a closed bottom and a dishedtop. Tubular sleeve means are disposed generally axially within thecontainer and extend through the container from the bottom to the top.The sleeve means are adapted to pass an anchor line. therethrough.

The container further comprises releasable anchor line restraining meansdisposed therewithin, the restraining means being adapted to restrainmovement of the anchor line with respect to the sleeve means in thedirection of the container bottom, yet being adapted to permit movementof the line with respect to the sleeve means in the direction of thecontainer top.

Preferably the sleeve means comprises a length of square tubing whichextends above the dished top. The releasable anchor line restrainingmeans preferably comprises a diagonally extending slot disposed in eachof two opposed walls of the tubing and a metal pin received in suchslots, the slots being so positioned with respect to the tubing that theanchor line can pass between the pin and the tubing only when the pin ispositioned at the top of the slots.

Preferably a nylon sleeve is received on the pin interiorly of thetubing. The nylon sleeve has an outer diameter greater than the width ofthe slots, whereby the sleeve is adapted to retain the pin within theslots.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of thedevice of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view;

FIG. 3 is a partial elevation sectional view;

FIG. 4 is a view showing a boat anchored in a body of water and prior toraising its anchor in accordance with this invention;

FIG. 5 is a view of the boat at the start of the method;

FIG. 6 is a view during the raising of the anchor;

- FIG. 7 is a view of the operation after the anchor has been fullyraised; and

FIG. 8 is a view showing retrieval of the anchor.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to the drawings, thereis illustrated a boat 10 anchored in a conventional manner by an anchor11 having its flukes l2 embedded at a submerged point 13, the anchorbeing connected to the boat by an anchor line 14. The boat 10 is shownsituated on the surface of the water at a position 15 normallydownstream of a surface point 16 overlying the submerged anchor 11,nonnally being carried to this point by the stream or tide within thelimitations of the slack in the anchor line The anchor raising device 17comprises a cylindrical watertight container 18 preferably made ofaluminum or plastic and having a closed bottom 20 and a dished top 21.While the size of the container is directly related to the weight of theanchor to be raised, I have found that a container 12 inches in diameterand 18 inches long has sufficient buoyancy to overcome the weight of andoperates satisfactorily to raise the usual small boat anchor 11.

A tubular sleeve 22 in the form of 1 /2 inch square aluminum tubing ofone-eighth inch or three-sixteenths inch wall thickness is disposedaxially of the container 18 and extends therethrough from the bottom 20to a point 23 above the dished top 21, which point 23 is generallycoextensive with the length of the container wall 24. The tubing extendsthrough the bottom and the dished top and is welded thereto as shown.

The top 21 is preferably dished so as to be depressed approximately fourinches at its center. I have found that if the top is dishedapproximately this amount in a container of the size hereinabove setforth, the device 17 will exert sufficient drag in the water to beretained at a substantially fixed position with respect thereto when theanchor line 14 is pulled through the sleeve 22, thus to permit thedevice to function as a fixed pulley or pivot member in a mannerhereinafter to be described.

Anchor line restraining means are provided within the tubular sleeve 22and such preferably take the form of a pair of diagonally extendingfive-sixteenths inch milled slots 25 disposed one in each of two opposedwalls 26 of the tubing outwardly and above the dished top 21 as shown. Aone-quarter inch diameter aluminum pin 27 provided with a three-eighthsinch outer diameter sleeve 28 of nylon tubing is received in the slots25, the nylon sleeve 28 terminating interiorly of the tubing thus toretain the pin 27 therewithin. The slots 25 are so positioned that theanchor line 14 can pass between the pin 27 and the wall 30 of the tubingonly when the pin 27 is positioned at the top of the slots 25. In thismanner the pin 27 and nylon sleeve 28 function to permit the anchor line14 to be pulled through the sleeve 22 in the direction of the dished top21, the friction of the line 14 holding the pin 27 at the top of theslots 25, but restrain the anchor line 14 from passing through thetubing when the line attempts to pass in the opposite direction, thatis, in the direction of the container bottom 20, as, for example, wouldbe the case were the anchor 11 to attempt to descend with respect to thedevice 17 once having been raised.

A handle member 31 connects the tubing wall 32 above the dished top 21to the wall 24 of the container and is so positioned as to permit aboatman to grasp the device and, using his fingers, to retain the pin 27adjacent the top of the slots 25, thus to permit the anchor 11 todescend and the line 14 to pass downwardly through the tubing 22 when itis desired to lower the anchor.

Operation When the boat desires to raise its anchor 11, the anchor line14 having theretofore been passed through the tubular sleeve 22 (FIG.4), the device 17 is put over the side (FIG. 5), the engine is startedand the boat is run upstream. Water runs into the dished top 21 andpulls the container 18 slightly under the surafce, as, for example,between two and three feet under the surface, but otherwise thecontainer tends to remain in place, that is, it remains substantiallyadjacent the surface and in a substantially enough fixed position so asto serve as a pivot or pulley member for the anchor line 14 (FIG. 6).The line is pulled through the tubing 22, raising the pin 27 to aposition adjacent the upper ends of the slots 25, and as the boat isdriven upstream of the submerged anchor 11, the anchor is graduallyraised to a position adjacent the bottom of the container 18.

.As soon as the boat is stopped, the weight .of the anchor 11 tends toreverseits relative direction with respect to the container 18 andcauses the nylon covered pin 27 to descend in the slots 25, acting as abrake and restraining further downward motion of the anchor 11 withrespect to the container 18. Since the container has sufficient buoyancyto overcome the weight of the anchor, it floats on the surface, with theanchor hanging therebeneath (FIG. 7). The boat can then be moved towardthe raised anchor, as by permitting the same to drift thereto, and theanchor retrieved (FIG. 8).

If the boatman desires to lower the anchor, he merely grasps the deviceby the handle member 31, lifts the pin 27 to a position adjacent the topof the slots 25, whereupon the weight of the anchor 11 causes the anchorline 14 to pass through the tubing 22, thereby permitting the anchor todescend.

While one embodiment of the invention has been shown and described, itis to be understood that modifications may be made without departingfrom the spirit and scope of the invention which is limited only by thefollowing claims.

I claim:

vl. An anchor raising device, comprising a generally cylindricalwatertight container, said container having a closed bottom and a dishedtop; tubular sleeve means disposed generally axially within saidcontainer and extending through said container from said bottom to saidtop, said sleeve means beingadapted to pass an anchor line therethrough;and releasable anchor line restraining means disposed within said sleevemeans, said restraining means being adapted to restrain movement of saidanchor line with respect to said sleeve means in the direction of saidcontainer bottom, said restraining means being adapted to permitmovement of said line with respect to said sleeve means in the directionof said container top. 2. The device of claim 1 in which said tubularsleeve means extends above said dished top.

3. The device of claim 2 in which said tubular sleeve means comprises alength of square tubing.

4. The device of claim 3 in which said releasable anchor linerestraining means comprises a pair of diagonally extending slotsdisposed one in each of two opposed walls of said square tubing; and r ametal pin received in said slots, said slots being so positioned withrespect to said tubing that said anchor line can pass between said pinand said tubing only when said pin is positioned at the top of saidslots.

5. The device of claim 4 further comprising a nylon sleeve received onsaid pin interiorly of said tubing, said nylon sleeve having an outerdiameter greater than the width of said slots, said nylon sleeve beingadapted to retain said pin within said slots.

6. The device of claim 5 further comprising a handle member connected tosaid tubing above said dished container top.

7. In combination,

a boat;

a flexible anchor line secured at one end to said boat;

a boat anchor fixedly secured at the other end of said anchor line;

a generally cylindrical watertightcontainer having a closed bottom and adished top, said container having a buoyancy sufficient to overcome theweight of said anchor;

tubular sleeve means disposed generally axially within said containerand extending through said container from said bottom to said top, saidanchor line passing through said sleeve means, said'container beingadapted to remain substantially adjacent the surface of a body of waterand in a substantially fixed position with respect thereto when saidcontainer is placed in'said body of water and said anchor line is pulledthrough said sleeve means to raise said anchor; and

releasable anchor line restraining means disposed within said sleevemeans, said restraining means being adapted to permit said anchor lineto be pulled through said sleeve means to raise said anchor, saidrestraining means being adapted to restrain said anchor from descendingbeneath said container when a pulling force is terminated on

1. An anchor raising device, comprising a generally cylindricalwatertight container, said container having a closed bottom and a dishedtop; tubular sleeve means disposed generally axially within saidcontainer and extending through said container from said bottom to saidtop, said sleeve means being adapted to pass an anchor linetherethrough; and releasable anchor line restraining means disposedwithin said sleeve means, said restraining means being adapted torestrain movement of said anchor line with respect to said sleeve meansin the direction of said container bottom, said restraining means beingadapted to permit movement of said line with respect to said sleevemeans in the direction of said container top.
 2. The device of claim 1in which said tubular sleeve means extends above said dished top.
 3. Thedevice of claim 2 in which said tubular sleeve means comprises a lengthof square tubing.
 4. The device of claim 3 in which said releasableanchor line restraining means comprises a pair of diagonally extendingslots disposed one in each of two opposed walls of said square tubing;and a metal pin received in said slots, said slots being so positionedwith respect to said tubing that said anchor line can pass between saidpin and said tubing only when said pin is positioned at the top of saidslots.
 5. The device of claim 4 further comprising a nylon sleevereceived on said pin interiorly of said tubing, said nylon sleeve havingan outer diametEr greater than the width of said slots, said nylonsleeve being adapted to retain said pin within said slots.
 6. The deviceof claim 5 further comprising a handle member connected to said tubingabove said dished container top.
 7. In combination, a boat; a flexibleanchor line secured at one end to said boat; a boat anchor fixedlysecured at the other end of said anchor line; a generally cylindricalwatertight container having a closed bottom and a dished top, saidcontainer having a buoyancy sufficient to overcome the weight of saidanchor; tubular sleeve means disposed generally axially within saidcontainer and extending through said container from said bottom to saidtop, said anchor line passing through said sleeve means, said containerbeing adapted to remain substantially adjacent the surface of a body ofwater and in a substantially fixed position with respect thereto whensaid container is placed in said body of water and said anchor line ispulled through said sleeve means to raise said anchor; and releasableanchor line restraining means disposed within said sleeve means, saidrestraining means being adapted to permit said anchor line to be pulledthrough said sleeve means to raise said anchor, said restraining meansbeing adapted to restrain said anchor from descending beneath saidcontainer when a pulling force is terminated on said anchor line.